LOSD Announces Appointment of New Superintendent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2018

Contact:Christine Moses

503-534-2312

LOSD Announces Appointment of New Superintendent

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Appointee Hails from Denver, CO

December 11, 2018, Lake Oswego, OR -- Today, the School Board of Lake Oswego School District (LOSD) offered Dr. Lora de la Cruz the position of Superintendent beginning July 1, 2019, pending negotiations. The Board voted unanimously to offer de la Cruz the position.

De la Cruz brings more than 30 years of educational leadership experience to the District. She is currently the Area Superintendent/P-20 Learning Community Director for Aurora Public Schools, which serves approximately 40,000 students and 5,000 staff members.

“We are excited to have such a highly qualified and experienced school and community leader to take Lake Oswego School District to the next level,” said Board Chair Bob Barman. “Dr. de la Cruz’s depth of experience and collaborative team approach to management will give LOSD the ability to ensure every student and staff member reaches their full potential.”

De la Cruz’s current work focuses on providing leadership for a comprehensive redesign and implementation of district-wide instructional infrastructure and professional development. In addition, she coordinates the gifted and talented program, multi-tiered systems of support program, social emotional support initiatives, special education services, culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and equity initiatives. She supervises ten principals in order to create a system-wide coherence to advance student learning across a highly diverse district.

De la Cruz began her career in 1993 as a K-6 classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and gifted and talented specialist in the Boulder Valley and Santa Fe Public School Districts. She served as Assistant Vice Principal for Eldorado K-8 School in Boulder Valley School District for two years and then served as principal for two different schools from 2008 to 2017. Because of the improvement efforts she implemented as principal, her students achieved a 136% growth rate on the state reading measure.

“Dr. de la Cruz is our first choice because of a commitment to students, a commitment to the mission of our school district and a commitment to communicate with our community,” said Board member Liz Hartman who co-chaired the search committee. “Our board acknowledges that we have a community with high expectations. We believe this candidate will meet the challenges our community offers, build solid relationships, and use District resources with integrity and honesty to be the educational leader that our District expects and respects.”

Board member John Wallin was the other co-chair of the search committee.

De la Cruz received her Doctor of Education degree in Leadership for Educational Equity from the University of Colorado Denver, her Master of Education degree in Kinesiology Education from the University of Texas Austin, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration from Texas State University.

LOSD’s national search for a superintendent was managed by Ray & Associates. More than 1,200 potential candidates from 47 states expressed interest in the position. Seventy-five candidates completed the application process, the largest applicant pool the company has ever received for any other search. Using criteria identified by Lake Oswego community focus groups of which more than 170 people participated, and the online survey completed by 423 community members, fourteen candidates were recommended to the Board for consideration. The Board interviewed eight semifinalists. The Board and a panel of District staff members conducted separate, in-person interviews with the three finalists.

“We are extremely excited to have seen the enthusiasm for our District from around the nation and we are so thrilled with the process and the outcome,” said Barman. “We are ready for the next chapter and we look forward to greater accomplishments in the near future.”

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